Listings Mon 23 – Sun 29 Sept 2019

Sep 23 2019 | By More

What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week

As Autumn bites, it is somehow fitting that Shelagh Delaney’s career defining A Taste of Honey is opening at the King’s for a week-long stay, while Richard Alston is making his last ever visit to the Festival Theatre on Friday.

The NT tour of A Taste of Honey opened at the Lowry last week and reviews from last Friday’s press night suggest not only that it hits the mark, pretty much spot on, but that Jodie Prenger is superb in the role of the mother.

Gemma Dobson, Tom Varey and Jodie Prenger in A Taste of Honey. Pic Marc Brenner.

This week’s A Play a Pie and A Pint is the already successful Mack the Knife, Morag Fullerton’s take on Weill and Brecht’s creation of The Threepenny Opera. So successful that the Traverse is laying on extra pies and moving the show into Traverse One.

There’s still an opportunity to see David Greig’s latest adaptation, of Science Fiction classic Solaris at the Lyceum. Our Hugh said in his review that, dealing with troubling questions about human interaction, it is – like all the best science fiction – not really about alien planets but about our own world an it “provides some moments of genuine theatrical magnetism.”

And of course Mamma Mia! is packing out the Playhouse. This 20th anniversary production is nicely updated to contemporary times and boasts Sharon Sexton as Donna, who our Martin said “gives a master class in selling a song theatrically, living the drama as she builds to the crescendo, holding the title line for all its worth”.

And he’s right, its a braw production all round. From the stalls on Saturday night during the encore, you could see that the whole theatre was on its feet, all three levels of it, and giving it laldy.

Elsewhere, Assembly Roxy has just announced its Autumn Season – and there is plenty to look out for there, starting with The Box this Friday night and The Old House on Friday and Saturday.

Listings Mon 23 – Sun 29 Sept 2019

Click on the name of the show to go to its ticketing site.
Assembly Roxy
Assembly Roxy, 2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU. Phone booking: 0131 623 3030.
The Box
Friday 27 September 2019
Evening: 7.30pm.
New dance theatre piece by Julia James-Griffiths that explores the impact depression can have and how our society responds to it. A beautiful combination of exquisite choreography and thought-provoking social commentary, presented with feeling and humou. Book here.

The Old House
Fri 27/Sat 28 September 2019
Evening: 7.30pm.
Revisiting The Old House, Mother and Daughter hang on to fragments of what they know. Beach walks, fish and chips, carnival processions, echoes of bygone summers. Memories surface, slip away. A last chance to meet each other anew. Grief, laughter, liberation… Book here.

The Brunton
Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA. Phone booking: 0131 665 2240
Stick by Me
Wednesday 25 Sept 2019
10am
Beautifully crafted, making treasure from everyday objects, Stick by Me is a joyful show about friendship and play, and the importance of treasuring little things, created by the duo behind critically acclaimed White, Andy Manley and Ian Cameron. Book here.

Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Richard Alston
Friday 27/Saturday 28 Sep 2019
Evening: 7.30pm.
The last ever visit from Richard Alston Dance Company which is due to close in 2020. Programme includes a newly revived The Signal of a Shake inspired by Handel’s brilliant concertos for organ, the world premiere performances of Martin Lawrance’s newest creation and last year’s popular Brahms Hungarian, featuring live solo pianist Jason Ridgway, where the dancers are carried along by fast steps and an abandoned fervour. Book here.

King’s Theatre
2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
A Taste of Honey
Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 September 2019
Evenings: 7.30pm; Matinees Wed, Sat: 2.30pm.
The National Theatre with Shelagh Delaney’s career defining play, an exhilarating depiction of working-class life in post-war Salford. When her mother Helen runs off with a car salesman, feisty teenager Jo takes up with Jimmy, a sailor who promises to marry her, before he heads for the seas leaving her pregnant and alone. Book here.

Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
Solaris
By David Greig, adapted from Stanisław Lem’s novel
Directed by Matthew Lutton
September 12 – October 5 2019.
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Matinees Weds, Sat (not 15): 2pm.
Within hours of arriving on a space station in orbit around the mercurial planet Solaris, psychologist Kris is troubled by the evasive habits of her fellow scientists who each seem haunted by ghosts. It’s not long before she herself is confronted by the spectre of an old love. Æ review: ★★★★☆ Questioning intelligence.  Book here.
Talk Show Solaris: Encountering Aliens
Monday 23 September: 7pm.
Guests include: Author James Meek, Professor Chris French, Dr Josie Peters and songwriter/artist Faith Elliot. Free but ticketed: Book here.
LYT Curtain Raiser: Solaris
Friday 27 September: 5.30pm.
The Lyceum Youth Theatre with a short performance, created in response to Solaris. Free. Phone 0131 248 4848 to book.

National Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street, EH1 1JF
Amadeus & The Bard: 18th Century Cosmic Brothers
Sat 28 Sept 2019
Two shows: 12 noon & 3pm.
Mixing storytelling and song, this brand new show from Scottish Opera celebrates the lives of two much-loved men. A talented cast of singers and instrumentalists blend traditional Burns folk tunes with music from some of Mozart’s most popular operas. Book here.

Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Mamma Mia!
Thursday 19 – Saturday 28 September 2019
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Matinees Thurs 26 & Sat: 2.30pm; Sun 22: 3pm.
See our news story here: Mamma Mia! for Playhouse.
It’s a new UK tour of Mamma Mia! And guess what? It kicks off in Edinburgh! Cast features Emma Mullen, Rob Fowler. Sharon Sexton and Toby Miles. Yippee! Æ review: ★★★★☆ Take a chance. Book here.

Traverse Theatre
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404.
A Play, A Pie and A Pint: Mack the Knife
Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 Sep 2019
Daily 1pm; Fri 7pm [T2]
Berlin, the late 1920’s… a time of decadence, despair and joie de vivre. A young Jewish composer, Kurt Weill, meets his muse, singer Lotte Lenya, and falls in love. He collaborates with playwright Bertolt Brecht on what they both consider a ‘bit of a potboiler’. As The Threepenny Opera delights audiences across Europe, a new barbarism is erupting which will change everyone’s lives forever. Book here.

ENDS

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